If you're having the girls over for tea, cake is always a good idea, but making a full sized cake sometimes makes people go into a calorie panic and they ask you for "just a tiny piece". Well, it's impossible to cut a truly tiny piece, and even more impossible to get that paper thin travesty from the serving spatula to the plate without it falling apart and looking crappy.
Tiny cupcakes are of course a fine option, but even though they are trendy, they might seem a little juvenile for certain gatherings. My suggestion is to dispense with the muffin tin liners and use the large six-muffin pan to bake six small cakes, which can then be cut in half or in quarters to make delicate little pieces of cake, just the right size for a lady-like tea party. Butter and flour the inside of each cup, just as you would a cake pan.
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
3 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
a pinch of cinnamon (just a hint, hardly noticeable)
Mix all of the ingredients together in your mixer on medium speed for two minutes, or by hand for a few minutes longer. Pour batter evenly into the six cups of the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes, or until just golden brown and cooked. Try not to overcook them. When they are done, pull them out of the oven, wait a few minutes then run a butter knife carefully around the edges of each little cake and remove them from the pan to cool.
For the frosting:
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cream
3 drops red food coloring
1 drop green food coloring
Mix well until fully blended and creamy, then pipe onto each cake to cover the tops.
Try not to eat them all yourself.
I promised I wouldn't post another summer squash recipe, so then, of course, I had nothing else to write about. Thank God my sister came to town and dragged me out of my squash rut. We made many non-squashy dishes which I will soon share.
This first dessert she made for me was so good I ate a whole plate of them- yes, all the ones in the picture. Don't judge me. They're crunchy and creamy and glazed with wildflower honey. What would you have done? We called them lu-lu's because the Greek word for donuts similar to these are called loukoumathes...which is kinda hard to say. And to spell.
Jeannie's Recipe:
Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 T. dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar
Oil for frying (vegetable, corn, sunflower, etc.)
Honey for drizzling
Whisk dry ingredients, add water and whisk until smooth. Cover and let rise in a cool/dry place for about 45 minutes. Heat vegetable or corn oil in a sauce pot or fryer to 350 degrees. Drop by the spoonful in the hot oil and flip after about a minute - should be deep golden color, but not too dark (dark will mean bitter to your tongue). Drain on paper towels and drizzle honey over the pastries before they cool.
Custard:
It's a great idea to make the custard first, let it cool to room temperature and then refrigerate it while you are making the pastry.
1 cup whole milk
2 T. corn starch
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 T. real butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Whisk all ingredients in a sauce pan. Turn on heat to medium or medium high and continue whisking until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and keep whisking. Transfer to another bowl and whisk again. The more you whisk, the smooth and fluffier your custard will be. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate.
Assembly:
Pipe the cold custard over the cooled pastry and serve.
The cashier at the market usually has to think for a minute to remember the code for celery root (or celeriac), or she has to look it up. The bagger will frequently look puzzled, and ask me, "What do you DO with that?"
I always say the same thing, "Oh you just peel it, and substitute it in recipes for potatoes."
I like celery root, it has that nice herb-y sweet celery taste, but with starchier texture. True to my word to curious bag-boys at the grocery store, I suggest
using it here as a potato replacement for a fried breakfast side dish.
But first, we begin with the eggs, because they will go in the oven while you make the root vegetables.
Ingredients for Two People:
4 eggs
4 slices of your favorite soft sliced bread (if you're doing Paleo, use "cloud bread")
2 teaspoons of soft butter
4 tablespoons heavy organic cream
salt and pepper
4 ramekins, or just use a muffin pan
Preheat the oven to 350, or 325 convection.
I have the standard little ramekins from Cost Plus World Market, they are fairly inexpensive, and when you're not using them for stuff like this, they are good for serving dipping sauces and condiments.
Start by rubbing the inside of each ramekin with a half teaspoon of soft butter. Then, cut circles out of the center of each bread slice. You can either use a biscuit cutter that's about the same size, or a little bigger than, the diameter of the ramekin. I actually just used the ramekin itself to cut the circles (they weren't perfect, but who cares?) Stuff each circle into the bottom of a ramekin.
Carefully crack a large egg on top of each bread slice, and sprinkle very well with salt and pepper. Top with a tablespoon of cream, then put in the oven for 15-20 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. They are soooo gooooood.
You can go ahead and serve them in the ramekins, they will stay warm longer, but if you're worried about someone accidentally burning their fingers on the burning hot ceramic (that would be me), you can just run a thin knife around the edge and use a large spoon to gently half-scoop half-slide them out onto the plate.
While your eggs are in the oven, you can make the side dish.
Ingredients for the Side Dish:
1 celery root
4 skinny young carrots (small sweet ones)
olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
fresh chives
Pour a generous amount of oil for frying in a cast iron (or regular) skillet and turn heat up to high. Don't worry about fat, these veggies don't soak it up like potatoes do.
Start by peeling your celery root. Use a chef's knife and think of it like a pineapple. Cut the bottom off and then use the knife to carve off the outside from the top down, then cut the top off last, it's better to err on the side of wasting than be left with ugly brown outer fuzz.
Slice the celery root into discs, then chop into little cubes. Chop the carrots as well (don't bother peeling them) and put them in the frying pan. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and ground allspice and cook on high 10-15 minutes stirring frequently.
After ten minutes, just give one of your celery root cubes a taste, to see if it's cooked to your liking, you may like it a little on the firmer side than I do (also check for salt). Use a slotted spoon or spatula to remove from the pan and serve with fresh green chives on top, along with your buttery-creamy baked eggs.
(I had them on the side in the picture, but you should chop the chives on top of the vegetables.)
Fennel bulbs are really pretty, even if the tops of them do look like someone left their crazy green wig on the ground. I am growing some in my garden right now, but they are just babies still, so I had to buy this fennel at the store. I didn't use the green tops for anything today, I just threw them in the compost.
A lot of people like fennel sliced thinly in salads, it has a nice sweet crunch, but I also like it cooked. Usually I throw fennel bulb in some kind of stew, or roast them with root vegetables, but today for lunch fennel was the star of the show.
Ugh. Did I just say, "star of the show?" Sorry, sometimes when I'm trying to be creative I sound like a cooking show cliche. I watch too much television.
Ingredients for this fragrant deliciousness (I can't stop):
One very large fennel bulb (l would say mine was at least five inches across), or get two small ones, cut in half, then sliced thinly
1/2 sweet onion, sliced thinly
1 grated carrot
3 tablespoons butter (vegan- don't use dark olive oil, use something lighter like sunflower)
1 teaspoon savory
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 big pinch white pepper
1/2 cup tawny port (cheap stuff is fine)
1/4 cup heavy cream (vegan use coconut cream)
fresh parsley
Get out your largest frying pan and, with the heat on high, saute the fennel, onion, carrot and spices in the butter for about five minutes, stirring only occasionally.
Stir in the 1/2 cup of port, and then turn the heat down to a brisk simmer and cover the pan.
Cook for ten minutes, then turn off the heat, lift the lid, stir in the cream and serve with lots of fresh parsley. The parsley isn't for decoration, I promise, it just adds a bright little freshness to it.
Serve either as a side dish (for four) with some crunchy-skinned roasted chicken, or, as a main dish (for two) with a slice of toast.
